What Is the Most Effective Social Anxiety Disorder Treatment?

Anxiety is a condition prevalent among people of all ages, from all walks of life. It is a condition of a largely mental/emotional nature but with many physical manifestations. Because it hits a person from all angles, if left unattended, it can result in rendering a person ineffective in dealing with even minor day-to-day situations.

One of the frequently discussed anxiety disorders has to do with the irrational fear of facing people or social situations. This is clinically referred to as the social anxiety disorder.

A person who has this disorder finds it difficult to deal with others on a social level. He tends to exhibit the most usual of certain social anxiety disorder symptoms. He will be assailed by self-doubts, uncertain as to what to say and how to behave with other people. He becomes very nervous with even just the thought of meeting people. He becomes fidgety. Hands become clammy. Sometimes he may have headaches or stomach pains from merely imagining how a social meeting would go.

If indeed he is forced to be in the presence of other people in social functions, he will not know what to say. He cannot carry on an interesting conversation. He is likely to suffer from an immensely parched throat, to twitch and fidget about, to sweat profusely, and to stutter when forced to speak. Inexplicably overwhelmed by it all, he simply wants to run away, disappear and escape.

A person who suffers from a more severe case of the same disorder may be crippled by his fears. He tends to keep to himself, immensely apprehensive lest he commits major social blunders. He becomes a social outcast, trembling at the thought of people discovering how inept he can be.

There are social anxiety disorder treatments that one can explore so that the fears can be minimized or dealt with in a more rational manner. In most cases, a person in the medical, psychiatric, or psychological professions may have to be consulted.

A patient is usually asked to take a battery of social anxiety disorder tests, the results of which will show a more in-depth assessment of the individual’s condition. This is necessary to ascertain what type of social anxiety disorder treatment is warranted. The scope of the battery will include conducting a physical exam, delving into the individual’s medical history, and, if warranted, assessing his mental health condition.

A complete psychological battery will probe into one’s intellectual and emotional functioning. It will investigate a person’s personality regarding his strengths and limitations. It will gauge his ability to express his thoughts and feelings. It will look into how he is likely to behave in given situations. The Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (SAS) is used to establish the spectrum of precise social situations the individual is afraid of.

If your condition is not severe, or you just want to learn more about yourself, you can avail of some personality tests available on the net. The questionnaires are simple to answer, usually calling for basic yes or no responses, and the test results available right after you finish taking the exams.

Many interventions have been found to be effective. Among these are the cognitive/behavioral therapy and the exposure therapy. The former allows the patient to take a close insightful look at his behaviors, discern what behaviors work and what do not, and correct how he behaves accordingly. Exposure therapy, on the other hand, repeatedly exposes the patient to the situations that incite his fears. It is founded on the belief that these recurring confrontations, and the ensuing repeated opportunities for the patient to study his behaviors and learn from them, will result in the patient’s gaining a sense of control over what threatens his equilibrium and thus reduce the anxiety.

There are also social anxiety disorders medications which help bring down the severity of a patient’s apprehensions. Most common of these are anti-depressants and benzodiazepines. But such meds are largely for relief. They do not deliver an enduring cure to the problem